


Let's Run Away

by sicilliene



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-05-04 08:38:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5327723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sicilliene/pseuds/sicilliene
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sehun is a ticking time bomb, Jongin wants to disarm him.</p><p>NOTE: This work will no longer be updated; and will most likely be orphaned. I haven't been really feeling the desire to write lately, so I apologize. ;A;</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One.

He was just a boy who liked football a lot. Sehun was born on April 12th on an incredibly sunny day. He enjoyed running around as a child and grew up with his best friend, Luhan. He liked staying up at night reading and watching documentaries, he wanted to be a football star in high school and wanted to become a doctor. During his sophomore year of high school, his life was turned upside down. He suffered constant stomach aches and heartburns, he lost countless pounds and finally after one week, his mother dragged him to the doctor's office. His diagnosis was brushed off as a simple stomach virus and he was given a prescription to ward off the bacteria. He had plans to go hang with his friends that night, but the world didn’t like him, he passed out from stomach pain on his birthday.  
Waking up in the hospital when you were supposed to be out at a restaurant with your friends was not how he imagined. That very moment, Sehun's heart had dropped and broken into a thousand pieces. It was cancer. "A great sixteenth birthday gift" he called it, trying to hold back the tears of fear. He was lucky; they found the cancer in the early stages. His friends stormed his room and comforted him as he felt like screaming, this was seriously something he knew he wouldn’t win against.  
In his 16th year of life he was strong. He wanted to fight it and he tried, and that year he had operations to get rid of tumors and many rounds of chemo. It was rough, but 16 year old Sehun coped with a smile and his parents and friends were there for him.  
Year seventeen for Sehun was his golden year. The tumors had finally disappeared and he was in remission. His little group of friends, Luhan, Jongdae, Junmyeon, Kyungsoo, and Chanyeol and him enjoyed their junior year of high school together. People treated him like he was an angel and he constantly was babied by other people. He didn’t admit it, but he secretly enjoyed the attention.  
The March before his nineteenth birthday his cancer had come back from a remission in an enormous wave. He couldn’t keep anything down, he was dangerously underweight and constantly tired. His worst nightmare had finally happened, they were going to keep him in the hospital. His parents packed his clothes and the next thing Sehun knew, he was once again in that incredibly boring room, laying on the bed, restricted. His friends were busy with college and he wished to be there, enjoying a normal life but as he always said, life really sucked and hated him.  
Nineteen year old Sehun is laid back, nonchalant, and indifferent to things. He wanted to live, but when you’ve been shut out from the rest of the world for being sick for so long, life simply had no appeal to him anymore. His mother said he was depressed and begged him to take the antidepressants prescribed to him, but Sehun didn’t care. Sehun could never find a place more boring than the hospital. The past three years consisted of him going in and out, the same tired routine over and over, and this time, it was for good. The nightmare that had been terrifying him for the past three years had begun to annoy him on no end, and he dreaded every minute, losing hope in finally becoming better.  
His group of friends always came more than once a week to throw him a party, and always ended up getting in trouble as Sehun sat there quietly, tired and sick, giving them a fake smile as they pranced around his room trying to cheer the sick boy up. “Once you get out of here, we’re going to the new theme park that opened up. I hear they have an indoor roller coaster, you’d love it!” Chanyeol would say, Kyungsoo would tell him of all the dishes he would make for Sehun. He loved his friends. He really did, but he was tired of it all. Maybe his mother was right, maybe he was depressed.  
Nothing was enjoyable anymore, he never found anything enjoyable and he never wanted to do anything in life. Life for him was laying there in bed, going to chemo, trying to eat, then laying in bed again. It was the same cycle over and over, and he really didn’t want to live anymore. As the 5 of the boys were kicked out by the nurses so Sehun could get some sleep, he mumbled quietly, “Why is everything so bleary…” he said lying back onto his bed, staring at the ceiling attempting to sleep. “I’m so tired I can’t even sleep.”  
It was dark outside when his mother came in to see him lazily playing video games on his Nintendo.  
“Sehunnie, have you eaten anything?” she would ask him, concerned for her son who had looked skinnier than ever. He shrugged, and told her as usual, that he had a few bites of his dinner and lost his appetite. She would shower him with kisses and spoil him, showing him the car she would get him. He sat there, nodding with bleary eyes.  
The next day, the boy’s nausea had died down and he was less tired than usual, and could almost even want to go outside. Sehun was determined to get rid of that wretched hospital gown that he's been wearing over and over again for the past two months. He quietly rustled through the duffel in the corner of his room, digging up a pair of football pants and a long sleeved T-Shirt from the football team at school that he was on before he had gotten cancer. He looked at himself in the mirror, disgusted with how gaunt he looked. But inside, he felt a bit of confidence as he no longer was wearing something as embarrassing as a gown that proudly boasted his underwear. He walked over to his bed and lay down, checking his phone. The group chat that the 6 of them were part of was constantly being flooded, with texts from everyone complaining about college, texts about inappropriate jokes, everything you would have expected from a group chat full of immature college boys. His fingers slowly tapped on the glass screen, forming a message.  
“Are you guys coming by today?”  
The responses were instantaneous and Sehun was curious on if these boys were actually paying attention in class.  
“Sehunnie finally said something!” Jongdae exclaimed.  
“Are you feeling better than usual?” read Kyungsoo’s message. He texted back,  
“Yes, I’m not as tired for some reason.”  
Luhan sent a happy face, along with the message, “I’m glad, the chemo is working, right?”  
The members of the chat sent happy faces and hearts, and Sehun responded with,  
“I guess, my doctor is probably going to give me an update today from the scans the other day.”  
“We can come by this evening!’ Chanyeol said, and Jongdae quickly followed up Chanyeol’s text with, “Let’s all play Super Smash!” Sehun glanced over to his Nintendo and sent a quick reply, “Sounds good with me, but I have to go. The doctor’s going to see me in a few minutes.” Luhan was the last one to send a text, “Everyone turn off your phones, we’re in college now! Focus! And Sehun, I’m glad you’re feeling better, I was worried, ever since the cancer came back you’ve been feeling really down and I’m glad you want us to visit today. Stay strong Sehunnie!” Hearts came in one by one from each person and Sehun couldn’t help but smile at the pink hearts and the nickname they’ve called him since middle school, since he was the youngest of the six. He slid his phone into his pocket as the nurse came in and took him in for examination. He couldn’t believe a change of clothes actually made his day.  
His mother and father walked in and gave Sehun a long hug as the doctor walked into his room, followed by a resident. “Sehun...” Dr. Kim started, looking up from his clipboard. “I know you’ve been trying your hardest and I can see you’ve been fatigued by the chemo. I’m pleased to say you have been making some progress. The tumors on the scans in your stomach have shrunk drastically,” he confirmed, smiling at the boy. Sehun grinned on the inside, and his eyes were full of glee and happiness. “My hair is beginning to fall out again, though. You could probably see your reflection if you used my head as a mirror.” he sarcastically remarked, and his parents and Dr. Kim laughed. “However, I’d hate to tell this to you and your family, but,” he hesitantly started, and Sehun could feel his heart drop. “The cancer has spread past your lymph nodes and into your lungs,” he said quietly and solemnly, and out the corner of his eyes, he saw his mother crumple into tears. He nodded, silently taking in a breath. “W-what’s next…” he started, staring blankly at his hands. “We’ll make the doses of chemo you take stronger. You’re in stage four, but this doesn’t mean you’re out of hope, Sehun. I’ll talk to your parents a bit more in my office, but I need you to keep staying strong and keep fighting this, alright?” Sehun nodded, watching his parents leave with the resident and Dr. Kim. “So much for a good day,” he mumbled to himself, getting out of bed, taking small steps out the door and to the elevator.  
He stepped into the elevator, pressing the button to the first floor, staring at the glowing numbers as each number lit up as he went down each floor. The elevator stopped at the third floor, and on the other side was the most beautiful boy Sehun had seen. He was glowing and had golden hair, with a sharp jawline and a fit body that made the hospital gown look really awkward on him. His eyes had a sparkle in them, and almost to Sehun’s amusement, he walked right into Sehun, the two bumping heads. “Oh my god, I’m sorry, I didn’t know someone was in here,” Jongin laughed, patting Sehun’s shoulders after a thorough patting of him down. “You were so quiet, I couldn’t even hear you breathe,” he chuckled, as Sehun scooted aside. “It’s alright,” he replied, staring at the metal doors slide, closing the elevator. “I’m Kim Jongin, 19, and blind. You?” Sehun giggled. “Quite the introduction. I’m Oh Sehun, 19, and I have tumours everywhere. I’m probably going to lose my lungs too, or something,” he joked. Jongin turned to face him and looked in his general location. “That’s rough, buddy. How are you faring?” Sehun looked to the sun kissed boy. “Well, pretty rough, because your head full of beautiful hair just made me feel naked,” he joked with the stranger. Jongin laughed, his laughter sounding like music to Sehun’s ears. His cheeks reddened and he stared at the ceiling. Maybe not all hope was lost.


	2. Two.

The elevator opened, and Jongin grabbed Sehun’s arm, and Sehun’s eyes widened, but he didn’t pull away.   
“Sorry, I still need to work on getting my way around here. I’ve been here so long, I wasn’t even supposed to leave my room,” he whispered.   
“It’s ok, I’ve got your back,” Sehun assured, leading the boy with him outside to the courtyard.   
“How you’d get in here?” Sehun asked, taking small steps so that Jongin could follow without running into corners.   
“Car accident. Did you know I was a really good dancer before? It took me months to get back on my feet. I can’t see anymore though,” Jongin started. “Dude, and I was just outside getting a cup of coffee. I totally didn’t ask to get hit by a truck and sent flying face first into a stop sign.”   
Sehun cringed. “Yikes, that must of hurt.” The other boy snorted. “Damn right, it hurt like hell,” he said. “What about you? I bet you have war stories too. But don’t tell me about those yet, tell me about what you did before you got sick,” Jongin said.   
Sehun grinned, surprised by his statement. Ever since he got sick, everything’s been about his cancer. No one’s asked about who he was before, who he was before the baldness and the weight loss. “Well, I was a football player. I was on varsity at school and liked to teach little kids on the recreational team. I also really liked medicine and wanted to be a doctor,” he said, as he guided Jongin to the bench he usually sat at. “Was? Changing majors?” Jongin asked. Sehun bit his lip, thanking that Jongin couldn’t see the pained expression on his face. “Well, yeah, I guess,” he lied. “I was really sick when the college applications were supposed to be turned in so I’m still not in college. Maybe I’ll pick an easier job.” Jongin thoughtfully nodded. “You can be a teacher or something, you’ve got a pretty voice that kids would like,” Jongin said, smiling. Sehun wistfully smiled. It’s not like my cancer is basically terminal and I’m at the last stages and I probably won’t be alive to go to medical school.   
“R-really? I’ve got this really awkward pronunciation,” Sehun sighed. “It’s cute,” Jongin teased. “J-Jongin, are you flirting with me?” Sehun asked, breaking out in laughter, breaking from his negative thoughts. He leaned in closer to Sehun, and leaned on his bony chest. “Maybe, maybe not.” Sehun looked down and saw Jongin’s shivering hands beneath his grey sweater. “You cold?” Sehun asked, staring at the bleak winter sky. The other boy shook his head. “Not really, I really like the crisp weather.” Sehun was taken aback by the stranger’s affectionate skinship. “Your shivering tells me otherwise,” he scolded. “Why didn’t you wear a bigger jacket?” He looked up to Sehun, his eyes grazing over and missing his eyes. “You’re wearing a tee shirt,” he retorted. Sehun snickered. “How’d you know?”   
The blind male responded, “I’ve been sort of holding onto you since I bumped into you in the elevator, dummy.” Sehun shrugged, staring up at the grey skies. “It’s the drugs getting to my head,” he joked, his sarcastic sense of humour still remaining after these years. “What do you look like, Sehun?” Jongin asked, bouncing his knee up and down. Sehun let out a long hum, thinking about how to make him sound more handsome than he actually was. “Well, I’m taller than you and I’m bald. I’ve got really nice eyebrows though, and I look like a skeleton with skin. I’m jealous of your complexion and your body, and that really nice hair of yours,” he started, touching Jongin’s soft hair. “I bet you’re very cute, Sehun,” the male insisted, his breaths puffing out in clouds. His cheeks began to flush and he felt them get hot. “If you insist that a skeleton with skin with really nice eyebrows cute,” he joked.   
Silence embraced the duo as Sehun awkwardly stared to the grey skies. He absentmindedly dug his nails into his palm, eyes wide, looking up at the clouds slowly moving past. “You’re lying,” Jongin said quietly, breaking the silence. Sehun stared at him, confused. “Lying about what? I seriously look like this,” he chuckled. Jongin sighed. “I can hear it in your voice, you’re dying aren’t you? You sound awfully sad, ” He asked. “You sound painfully done with everything,” he continued, biting his lip. Sehun took in a sharp breath, shocked with his question. “How’d you know?” he questioned, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “I’m good at these things,” the other boy replied. Sehun pulled his knees up to his chest and tightly hugged them. “I… got told that my cancer advanced to stage four today. It’s in my lungs and lymph nodes and I’m probably going to die. I’ve been sick for 3 years and trying to stay alive and I’m still going to die anyways,” he said bitterly, tears sliding down his pale cheeks, quietly sniffing so that Jongin wouldn’t know that he was crying. "The doctors kept kissing up. Three years ago, it was a 20% survival rate, I'm down to four."  
Jongin fumbled to wrap his arms around Sehun. “Hey, are you crying?” he asked, his hands fluttering around to pat Sehun’s cheeks. “Hey, no crying, wanna go break something instead?” Jongin said, his hands roughly wiping the salty tears off Sehun’s cheeks. “Oh my god, I’d love to do that right now. Please let me go break something,” he choked, openly crying now. “Can you drive?’ Jongin asked, awkwardly patting his shaking back. Sehun shook his head, hands brushing his tears away. “Didn’t have time, I was busy losing hair and throwing up,” worrying about his puffy eyes. “Well, come up to my room,” he ushered, grabbing the boy’s hand. “Take me there, I’m on the third floor five doors to the right of the elevators.”   
The duo rushed up to Jongin’s room, which was probably the most festively decorated in all the hospital. There were flowers, balloons, baskets of sweets and every sympathy gift available in the gift aisle of a store. “Take a flower vase, any,” he offered. “I’ll put the flowers in another vase, or if you want to set those on fire as well, up to you.” He quickly grabbed the vase of flowers and slammed it onto the ground, letting out a screech. Moments later, he realized what he had done, shooting a scared look at Jongin, who was smugly staring at the wall.   
“Jongin, oh my god,” Sehun whispered, laughing quietly at the shattered vase, in multiple pieces. “What did I just do?”  
Jongin shrugged, “Let out your anger? You feel better?”  
“Actually… yeah…” Sehun murmured, his quiet, stifled giggles turning into louder laughs. “Ha! I’m going to die and I’m getting concerned over a smashed vase!”  
Jongin slowly sat down on his bed criss crossed, nodding proudly. “Well, could you clean up that though? You don’t want the blind man stepping on broken ceramics.”  
Sehun was now guffawing, bent over in a fetal position cracking up. “Oh my god, oh my god, why is this so funny,” he forced through the laughter. His bony hands began to pick up the broken pieces of the vase, tossing them into the trash can behind him. The shards flew into the trash can piece by piece, and moments later he stood up, plopping onto the bed next to Jongin.   
“Hey, thanks for making me feel a bit better. I’m still bitter, but hey, I smashed a vase and laughed for the first time in forever, so thanks.”  
Jongin clapped his back roughly and Sehun broke into a coughing fit, retaliating by ruffling the other boy’s soft honey golden hair.   
“Hey, anytime Sehun, anytime.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooooo this was more of a filler chapter because i've been so caught up w/ school literally frick @ finals UGH. thank u for giving me lots of love n support and i appreciate every read! it's so scary but amazing to know that people other than myself read my writing. blessed. very blessed. <3


	3. Three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi loves ;; im so sorry for the loooong hiatus, i was not feeling up for writing at all these past few months and i've been feeling super crappy about my writing too!!! this is the first time in a long time i've ever published anything online, and the first exo fic i've ever published so i felt really nervous initially. thank u to everyone who's read and left kudos, i've never expected anything more than like, 2 page views. <3 **ALSO i apologize for any medical inaccuracies, i'm nOT a med student i'm 15 i'm SO SORRY LMAO everything was found on google searches** (also, i felt like the romance needed to be rushed bc i don't intend on making this a long fic. i also apologize for not including sehun's friends that much but a spin off story with them is calling to me HAHA, i hope u enjoy.)
> 
> p.s. i wouldn't hope on having a bunch of fluff chapters like this bc i hate myself and am an angst enthusiast

As Sehun says goodbye and leaves Jongin’s festive room, he turns around and looks at the glowing boy one more time, who was laying on his bed listening to music. He slips down the hallway, sliding into his room silently only to let out a shrill scream as his friends all scream “SURPRISE!”  
  
The 4 overly loud boys are then shooed out hours later after a rigorous tournament of Super Smash, and his doctor, a nurse, and his parents walk in. Without a proper explanation besides “you’re dangerously underweight and not getting enough nutrition,” a feeding tube was proposed. Perhaps proposed is an understatement, it was forced upon his tiny, 54 kilogram body. It was a routine central line, he’s had one of those before. Nevertheless, he felt stripped. Every sense of pride in him stripped, he knew that he had hit rock bottom when he had to get his food through a damn tube jabbed into his chest.  
He lay there on the cold bed, one hand covering his eyes, the other tightly gripped his mother’s. “I’m going to administer a local anesthetic now, Sehun,” the nurse chimed. Sehun nodded, closing his eyes. He should be used to needles in him by now, but somehow, he wasn’t.  
_“I want to see Jongin. I want to see Jongin, I want to see Jongin.”_  
His cold hands cooled his eyelids, and he was too tired to react to the sharp metal sliding into his chest. Minutes pass, and the nurse tells him it’s okay to look. He slowly sits up and looks in the mirror across the bed, staring at his prominently protruding ribs. Near his sternum lay wires coming out his chest, taped to his snow white skin.  
“I look like a robot, the wires are my chargers,” he croaked.  
His mother laughed as she bent over to kiss him on his head. She and his father soon left the room to go back to work. He hated it, but he knew that their jobs was the thing that could make them afford the medicine that’s kept him alive the past three years. So he kept quiet, silently missing his parents.  
_I want to see Jongin._  
As if on cue, he saw the boy learning against the door frame sheepishly holding a white tipped cane. “Hi, Sehun.” Sehun looked up and smiled to see Jongin. “Hi, Jongin. Please come in,” Jongin slowly made his way over to the bed, where Sehun had shifted over so that he would have room to sit. Sehun felt his cheeks get hot as Jongin carefully sat down next to him, letting out a slight oof with a pout.   
_That was cute as fuck._  
“How’d you know where I was?”  
“I have a sixth sense. I can detect cute boys.”  
Sehun broke out into a grin, “come on, we both know you don’t find egg headed boys cute.”  
Jongin shrugged. “Well, I asked my way around, got lost a few times but I managed to find the oncology wing and stumbled across a very handsome boy’s room.”  
“Kim Jongin, this is highly inappropriate!”  
The honey golden haired boy lightly punched Sehun, his knuckles touching the thin wires jutting out his chest.  
“ _Oh God, Sehun, I’m sorry_ ” Jongin breathed out, jerking his hand back to his lap, dead eyes panning the floor. Sehun’s bony hands clench and his jaw locks, shocked from his reaction, a little hurt even.  
“...are you scared?”  
There were two types of reactions he got from people. The first one was pity, the big eyes and the shoulder pats. The second, fear. The little children that’d point at his head and his mask at the store, the reactions of people that saw the holes in his arms and hands from the IVs, or the long scars on his stomach from surgeries when his shirt would come off with his sweatshirt. He was scared, he was scared Jongin was the latter.  
“No, I’m not, I just… I’m sorry,” Jongin stuttered, looking in Sehun’s direction, never making eye contact with him. “...what’s it for?”  
Sehun took in a breath. “It’s a PICC line. It’s supposed to feed me apparently because I’m ridiculously malnourished. He grabbed Jongin’s hand and guided him to feel the ports through his cotton shirt. “The ports are where the nurses are gonna insert medicine and nutrition of sorts.”  
Jongin nodded, intently listening. “I see! That’s pretty cool- I mean, er, interesting.”  
Sehun could feel the weight coming off his already tumor infested chest. “I guess it’s cool, but I’d rather eat my food. Can’t keep down much though, and my appetite his shot.”  
Jongin nodded, flopping back onto the bed. “Tell me more, Sehun.”  
Sehun guided Jongin’s hand towards his arm where his IV port was. “This is where they administer painkillers and the chemo meds. It makes me nauseous and I’m tired most of the time.”  
He grabbed the oxygen tubes above his bed, putting them in Jongin’s hands. “I put this on when I don’t get enough oxygen. I think they’re called nasal cannulas or something.”  
Jongin chuckled, “oh yeah, I’m familiar with these. I felt awful without them for the first week when I woke up.”  
Jongin placed the tubes on Sehun’s head. Sehun’s giggled eventually turned into coughs. “I start my new chemo treatment tomorrow. It’s a lot more aggressive this time.”  
There was a long silence.  
“...I’m sorry. Tell me about it.”  
“Why are you so curious about my gross, sickly life?”  
“So I’ll know every bit of information about this boy I’ve taken an interest in,” Jongin smirked.  
His long, elegant fingers trailed up his cold arm and up to his neck. Sehun shuddered, but he didn’t tell him to stop. He stopped at his cheek, his warm hand against his cold cheek.  
“...this is your cheek, where I’m going to place my lips.”  
Sehun remained frozen as the tanned boy leaned over, heart pounding as he felt Jongin’s soft lips brush against his cheek. What felt like years was a tiny moment, a few ticks in the clock. As soon as he knew it, Jongin was no longer touching him, and he was simply laying back on the bed next to him. They lay there for a good two hours, staring at the ceiling. Sehun could feel himself getting tired and drowsy.  
“...Jongin?”  
“...mmm.”  
“Do you really fall in love with egg headed, cancerous boys that will die?”  
“...mmm.”  
Sehun swam in and out of consciousness, he could feel his eyelids getting heavy. When he woke up, Jongin was gone, but he could still feel the weight of his lips on his cheek.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sehun couldn’t remember how it felt to be this sick to this extent. Jongin, Jongin, where was he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh lmao this is such a short chapter, but i needed to get this out of my system before i start reading my novel for english. i was going to make this one of the last chapters, but something in me made me extend it by another chapter. i'm thinking that there will be five chapters, and i'm hoping the last will be much, much more lengthy than this chapter was. think of this as a filler, i just needed to do something before i rot and read 1984. enjoy. *sweats* ヾ(´▽｀;)ゝ
> 
> p.s. the last couple of lines might clue u in to what's going to happen next but idk??? im crazy

Sehun was bubbling with energy the day they had first given him the new chemo meds. He was well enough to sit up and read his favourite manga, his guilty pleasure, _Ao Haru Ride._ His friends made fun of him, but he couldn’t get enough of the romance and the big eyes. The main male character’s eyes reminded him of Jongin. _Where is Jongin? He hasn’t come today._ _  
_ He was feeling so well, he even asked for those banana popsicles they always had in the oncology ward. He flipped through the pages admiring the art, teeth clenching the popsicle stick absentmindedly. He was even in the mood to listen to music, listening to the alternative playlists on Spotify. He was feeling good.  
  
The following evening was the turn of events for him. He felt the bile rising up in his throat, his scrawny legs scrambling to get off the bed and rush to the bathroom. He had forgotten about the IV pole, he stumbled over the tangled lines, tripping and bringing the metal pole down with him in a crash. He threw up there, sick all over the floor. The aftertaste burned his throat, salty tears ran down his cheeks as he dry heaved, frozen and unable to get up.   
  
He looked up to see Jongin standing at the door once again widely smiling. “Hello, Sehun!” The smile soon disappeared when he heard the panting and the agonized curses.  
  
“Sehun, d-do you need he-”  
“Get out.”  
“I’m going to find som-”  
“GET OUT.”  
He stared at Jongin’s back as the boy quickly turned around and walked away in small steps, hearing the soft _tap, tap, tap_ , of that damned white tipped cane. _PleaseIDidn’tMeanToI’veBeenWaitingAllDayToSeeYouI’mSorry._  
It wasn’t long until a nurse came and helped him back into bed and changed him into clean clothes. He still couldn’t get rid of the shame and embarrassment.   
  
_Please, please please someone get me out of here._ _  
__  
_ The days soon to follow did not become better. Jongin did not come back. He was there alone, laying on that bed, the bed they once laid together on. He was too tired, too sick to move. His bloodshot eyes remain fixed on the TV quietly playing cartoons when he was awake, he ignored the buzzing of his phone. His parents came to visit, but he was asleep by then. Sleeping was the only time when he didn’t feel anything. Sleeping, praying for a happy dream where he had a headful of hair and in college on a football scholarship.   
  
It wasn’t until exactly one week later when he saw the beautiful Kim Jongin standing at the door once again, this time dressed sharply in a baby blue dress shirt and skinny khakis. “Hello, Sehun. I hope you are not dry heaving on the floor currently. I’m sorry I haven’t been to visit, I got discharged and it’s been hectic.”  
His weary eyes struggle to focus, mesmerized by his beauty.  
“...hey.”  
Jongin approached him, gently sitting on the edge of his bed.  
“I heard that you’ve been very under the weather lately.”  
“Under the weather is an understatement.”   
With a grunt, Jongin lays down and wraps his arms around Sehun. “Can I stay like this?”  
Sehun doesn’t respond. Jongin hears him sniff.  Sehun’s hand is covering his eyes and he’s biting his lip to stop making too much noise.   
“Sehun, are you crying?”  
Sehun doesn’t respond, but his hand grabs Jongin’s arm tightly.   
“...Jongin.”  
“...mmm.”  
“I missed you, you know?”  
“....mmm.”  
He opens his eyes, vision blurry from the tears, but he still sees Jongin laying there, arms encasing his frame made of skin and bones. He sees the freckles dotting Jongin’s cheek bones and the soft, hair laying in waves that peeked out from the grey beanie. He didn't want to run away, he really didn't. He wanted to stay, he had so many things left to do here. So many people he has yet to meet, so many people he needs to stay here and love. So many foods he has yet to try, so many places he has yet to travel and so many things he has yet to learn. He was angry, angry that this boy came into his life and woke him up, woke him up to the things that could be _real_ between them. His time had been unfairly cut short, he wanted to be with his parents longer, be with his friends longer, and be with  _Jongin longer._ He was hurting, his body and his soul. He thinks its time to give up, but he doesn't say a thing about it. Instead, he says five words, just five.

“Thank you for coming back.” __  
  


**Author's Note:**

> HI FRIENDS! i usually never publish my fics bc i'm really self conscious about my writing style and i'm always trying to improve it before actually showing it to people. this is the first exo fic i've published and its gonna be some serious angst (because literally all i write is angst) and sekai (because all i write is sekai) but!!! i hope you like my writing and didn't shed too many tears lolol.  
> self promotion time!  
> ig: 94dana  
> tumblr: banhcanh


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